1977,3031 
Ist28| 

Dan  B.  Starkey. 

"George  Rogers  Clark  and  his  Illinois 
Campaign.   (1897) 


li!iec!S  fiiiisr&i  Scrvjy 


PARKMAN  CLUB  PUBLICATIONS 

No.  12 
MILWAUKEE,  Wis.,  January  12,  1897 


GKOROK  ROOERS  CLARK: 

AND  HIS  ILLINOIS  CAMPAIGN 

DAN  B.   STARKLY 


Printed  for  the  Parkman  Club  by  Edward  Keogh 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  AND  HIS  ILLINOIS 
CAMPAIGN. 


There  is  no  name  associated  with  the  early  history  of  the 
West  more  worthy  of  grateful  remembrance  by  the  people  of 
the  United  States  than  that  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  "the 
Washington  of  the  West,"  as  Reynolds  called  him, — "the 
Hannibal  of  the  West"  [i],  as  he  is  styled. by  John  Randolph. 
By  an  almost  bloodless  contest,  he  gave  force  and  validity  to 
shadowy  charter  claims,  and  rendered  an  inestimable  service 
in  securing  to  this  country  the  domain  of  an  empire,  out  of 
which  five  great  states  have  been  carved.  Conceiving  and 
carrying  to  a  successful  conclusion  against  the  most  formidable 
obstacles,  "one  of  the  most  daring  and  brilliant  military  enter- 
prises recorded  in  the  annals  of  individual  or  national  hardi- 
hood" [2],  he  helped  to  make  the  Mississippi  River  the  western 
boundary  of  the  nation  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and 
paved  the  way  for  securing  the  vast  territory  to  the  West,  the 
accession  of  which  extended  the  nation's  boundaries  from  sea 
to  sea.  It  was  perhaps  no  very  great  stretch  of  the  historian's 
imagination  to  say  that  but  for  the  work  of  this  remarkable 
man,  the  magnificent  country  which  now  forms  the  greater 
part  of  the  United  States,  "might  at  this  hour  be  broken  from 
us  at  the  Alleghany  Mountains'  summit,  or  the  Ohio  River's 
shore."  [3] 

When  American  independence  had  been  won  by  force  of 
arms,  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  securing  of  peace  by  the  arts 

[1]  See  chapter  headed  "The  Hannibal  of  the  West"  in  Dunn's 
"Indiana." 

[2]    Rives'  "Life  and  Times  of  Madison,"  vol.  i.,  p.  192. 
[3]     "Clark's  Campaign,"  introduction. 


26  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

of  diplomacy  was  the  western  boundary.  The  fisheries  ques- 
tion was  also  a  stumbling  block,  but  that  was  of  secondary 
importance,  and  was  more  easily  adjusted.  Many  months  of 
wearing  negotiations  were  spent  in  an  endeavor  to  arrive  at 
a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  boundary  question,  and  the 
fact  that  the  United  States  held  the  disputed  territory  by  right 
of  conquest  and  settlement,  as  well  as  by  charter  claims,  was 
the  principal  ground  upon  which  the  American  commissioners 
relied  to  sustain  their  claim  to  the  Mississippi  River  and  the 
Great  Lakes  as  the  western  boundaries  of  the  new  nation.  It 
has  been  said  that  "while  due  credit  should  be  given  to  Clark 
for  his  daring  and  successful  undertaking,  we  must  not  forget 
that  England's  jealousy  of  Spain,  and  the  shrewd  diplomacy  on 
the  part  of  America's  peace  commissioners,  were  factors  even 
more  potent  in  winning  the  Northwest  for  the  United  States" 
[4],  but.  the  fact  remains  that  but  for  Clark's  campaign  "the 
force  of  conquest,  the  moving  etiquette  of  treaties  of  peace, 
would  have  been  lost."  [5]  By  the  treaty  of  1763  England 
had  come  into  actual  possession  of  the  country  between  the 
Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi  River,  to  which  she  had  previ- 
ously claimed  an  imaginary  title  [6],  and  Spain  had  obtained 
the  vast  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  but  twenty  years 
later,  when  the  United  States  wanted  peace,  the  British  title 
to  the  country  was  disputed  and  the  King  of  Spain  saw  fit  to 
lay  claim  to  it  on  very  slender  grounds,  perhaps  with  the  con- 
nivance of  both  France  and  England.  [7]  France  had 
undertaken  to  aid  the  United  States  to  obtain  its  independence, 
and  had  made  a  treaty  in  which  it  had  been  expressly  stipulated 
that  peace  should  not  be  made  with  England  until  the  inde- 

[4]    K.  G.  Thwaites,  in  Wither's  "Border  Warfare,  p.  254,  note. 
[5]    "Clark's  Campaign,"  introduction. 

[6]  The  early  charters  of  the  colonies  had  extended  their  boundaries 
from  ocean  to  ocean,  but  England's  domain  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
Alleghany  Mountains. 

[7]  In  1781  a  detachment  of  Spaniards  and  Indians  took  possession  of 
Fort  St.  Joseph,  near  the  source  of  the  Illinois.  The  Spanish  minister 
caned  it  a  conquest  and  insisted  that  if  the  country  did  not  belong  to  the 
King  of  Spain,  it  belonged  to  the  Indians.— See  "Clark's  Campaign." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  27 

pendence  of  the  United  States  in  its  entirety  should  be 
acknowledged,  but  when  it  came  to  making  the  treaty  of  peace, 
she  showed  no  disposition  to  help  the  young  nation  to  any 
territory  that  it  had  not  wrested  from  Great  Britain  for  itself, 
and  it  became  a  question  of  the  utmost  importance  as  to  what 
had  been  British  territory,  and  what  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  United  States  -at  the  close  of  the  war.  M.  Vergennes, 
the  able  French  minister,  said  that  "France  did  not  desire  to 
see  the  new  Republic  mistress  of  the  entire  continent"  [8],  and 
the  secret  diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  period  of  the  pease 
negotiations  shows  that  he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  desire  of 
Spain  and  England  to  curtail  the  domain  of  the  infant  Repub- 
lic, notwithstanding  his  professions  of  friendship.  [9] 

The  King  of  Spain,  who  had  acted  for  a  while  the  part  of 
mediator,  and  was  reluctant  to  make  war  upon  England, 
insisted  that  the  United  States  should  renounce  its  claims  to 
the  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi,  as  a  condition  precedent  to 
his  entering  the  alliance  with  France,  and  France,  anxious  for 
reasons  of  her  own  to  give  the  Bourbon  kingdom  the  balance  of 
power  in.  America,  used  her  influence  to  get  the  American 
commissioners  to  yield  the  point.  Interests  too  great  were  at 
stake,  however,  and  they  declined  at  the  risk  of  a  breach  with 
France.  The  Catholic  king's  claim  that  England  had  for- 
feited her  title  [10]  to  the  disputed  territory,  that  it  did  not 
belong  to  the  Americans,  but  to  him  or  to  the  Indians,  was  not 
tenable,  and  it  was  the  only  ground  upon  which  the  demand 
of  the  United  States  could  be  refused.  There  was  no  doubt 
that  the  territory  had  belonged  to  England  and  had  been  won 
from  her  in  the  name  of  Virginia.  The  State  of  Virginia  had 
asserted  her  claim  to  the  territory  by  virtue  of  her  chartered 


[8]    See  "Diplomatic  Correspondence,"  vol.  i. 

[9]  See  "Diplomatic  Correspondence,"  Winsor's  "Narrative  and  Crit- 
ical History,"  "Adams'  Writings,"  "Franklin's  Works,"  "Magazine  of 
Western  History,"  etc.,  etc. 

[10]    "Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  vol.  vii.,  p.  118. 


28  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

limits,  and  by  "the  right  of  conquest''  [n],  and  her  Assembly 
had,  on  November  5th,  1779,  adopted  resolutions  instructing 
her  delegates  in  Congress  "in  the  pending  negotiations  with 
Spain  to  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  obtain  an  express  stipu- 
lation in  favor  of  the  United  States  for  the  free  navigation  of 
the  River  Mississippi  to  the  sea,"  etc.  At  the  previous  session 
the  Legislature  had  passed  an  act  incorporating  into  her  gov- 
ernment the  whole  country  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Missis- 
sippi, under  the  name  of  the  County  of  Illinois,  and  provision 
had  been  made  for  its  protection  by  reinforcements  to  Clark's 
army.  Virginia  had  later  granted  150,000  acres  to  Clark  and 
his  officers,  and  had  reserved  lands  for  other  soldiers  and 
officers,  while  Congress  in  1780,  recognizing  the  title  of  the 
different  states  to  their  western  lands,  had  recommended  that 
they  cede  them  to  the  United  States.  These  transactions  had 
taken  place  before  the  signing  of  the  preliminary  articles  of 
peace  and  all  the  facts  were  known  to  the  peace  commissioners 
of  the-  interested  nations.  Congress,  too,  when  by  its  act  of 
March,  1779,  it  instructed  its  commissioner  to  insist  upon  the 
Mississippi  River  for  the  western  boundary,  had  held  that  the 
American  people  had  succeeded  to  the  English  rights.  [12] 
The  design  of  Spain,  abetted  by  France,  had  been  "to  coop 
us  up  within  the  Alleghany  Mountains,"  as  Dr.  Franklin 
expressed  it  in  1782,  and  it  has  been  said  that  the  chief  reason 
why  the  design  failed  was  that  "George  Rogers  Clark  had 
conquered  the  country,  and  Virginia  was  in  undisputed  pos- 
session of  it  at  the  close  of  hostilities."  Judge  Burnet  says  in 
his  interesting  "Notes  on  the  Early  Settlement  of  the  North- 
West  Territory:"  "That  fact  [the  capture  of  the  British  forts] 
was  confirmed  and  admitted,  and  was  the  chief  ground  upon 
which  the  British  commissioners  reluctantly  abandoned  their 
claims."  In  the  light  of  more  recent  historical  knowledge,  it 


fll]    Rives'  "Madison,"  vol.  i.,  p.  206. 

[12]     "Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  vol.  vii.,  p.  90. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  29 

must  be  admitted  that  those  statements  need  some  modifica- 
tion. As  has  been  said,  the  whole  credit  for  the  winning  of 
this  large  portion  of  the  West  can  not  be  given  to  Clark,  and 
yet  the  fact  remains  beyond  dispute  that  his  achievements 
played  a  part,  without  which  the  diplomacy  of  our  embassa- 
dors  abroad  might  have  been  unavailing.  It  detracts  some- 
what from  Clark's  glory  that  he  did  not,  himself,  take  into 
account  the  important  bearing  his  undertaking  would  have 
upon  the  boundary  question ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  he 
was  actuated  by  any  such  high  patriotic  motive  as  the  exten- 
sion of  the  domain  of  his  mother  country.  Clark  probably 
had  another  end  in  view,  but  Thomas  Jefferson  saw  the 
importance  of  the  successful  outcome  of  the  expedition,  as  is 
shown  by  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Clark  before  the  expedi- 
tion started,  in  which  he  said:  "Much  solicitude  will  be  felt 
for  the  result  of  your  expedition  to  the  Wabash;  it  will,  at  least, 
delay  their  expedition  to  the  frontier,  and  if  successful,  have 
an  important  bearing  ultimately  in  establishing  our  North- 
western boundary."  [13] 

GEORGE     ROGERS     CLARK'S    .EARLY    LIFE. 

The  limits  of  this  paper  will  not  permit  an  extended 
account  of  the  disturbed  condition  of  things  prevailing  in  the 
Western  country  shortly  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolu- 
tion, nor  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  which  made  the  eastern 
half  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  the  theater  of  a  long  and  bloody 
border  war.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  encroachment  of 
the  American  settlers  upon  their  hunting  grounds  had  gained 
for  the  colonists  the  hatred  of  the  Indians  who  fought  them 
first  on  their  own  account,  and  then  broke  a  short-lived  peace 


[13]  Dr.  Hinsdale  in  his  work  on  "The  Old  Northwest"  takes  the  view 
that  Clark's  conquest,  separate  and  apart  from  the  colonial  titles,  would 
not  have  secured  the  great  West  to  the  United  States,  but  in  another  place 
he  remarks  that  the  American  commissioners  at  Paris  in  1782  could  plead 
nti  possidetis  in  reference  to  much  of  the  country  beyond  the  Ohio 
because  the  flag  of  the  Republic  raised  over  it  by  George  Rogers  Clark  had 
never  been  lowered. 


30  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

to  fight  them  at  British  instigation,  until  George  Rogers  Clark 
whipped  them  into  subjugation.  Much  has  been  written  about 
the  Illinois  campaign  and  its  results,  but  the  life  of  the  man 
who  conceived  and  executed  it  remains  in  comparative 
obscurity.  Of  his  early  years  almost  nothing  is  known.  He 
was  born  near  Monticello,  in  Albermarle  County,  Virginia,  of 
British  ancestry,  on  November  I9th,  1752,  and  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  had  begun  life  as  a  surveyor.  Four  years  later  he  was 
practicing  his  profession  on  the  upper  Ohio,  and  had  taken  up 
a  claim  at  the  mouth  of  Fish  Creek.  He  seems  to  have  con- 
tinued to  work  on  the  upper  Ohio  for  a  couple  of  years,  and 
in  April,  1774,  was  one  of  a  party  of  eighty  or  ninety  Virginians 
who  gathered  at  the  Little  Kanawha  River  with  the  intention 
of  making  a  settlement  in  Kentucky,  the  tide  of  emigration 
being  that  way  at  the  time.  Rumors  of  Indian  outbreaks 
diverted  them  from  their  purpose,  and  made  them  participants 
in  the  events  which  led  up  to  the  Dunmore  war.  Clark  was 
a  member  of  a  company  which  started  out  to  attack  the  camp 
of  Logan,  the  famous  chief,  but  relented  when  it  had  gone  five 
miles  on  its  journey,  and  it  was  his  testimony  which  years 
afterwards  cleared  Capt.  Cresap  from  the  charge  of  having 
murdered  Logan's  family.  When  activities  began  in  earnest 
against  the  Indians,  Clark  joined  Dunmore's  army  and  was 
made  captain  of  a  company,  though  he  was  then  only  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  The  part  which  he  took  in  this  war  gave  him 
a  knowledge  of  Indian  fighting,  which,  joined  with  his  experi- 
ence as  a  frontiersman,  fitted  him  for  the  greater  enterprise  in 
which  he  was  to  be  the  moving  spirit.  His  services  in  the  war 
had  evidently  been  valuable,  for  at  its  close  he  was  offered  a 
commission  in  the  English  service,  but  evidently  foreseeing 
•  the  clash  that  was  to  come,  and  being  heartily  in  sympathy 
with  the  colonists  as  against  the  mother  country,  he  declined 
the  commission. 

Then,  as  now,  the  West  was  regarded  as  the  field  of  action 
for  young  men,  and  Clark  had  for  some  time  thought  of  cast- 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  31 

ing  his  lot  in  the  country  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
It  does  not  appear  that  he  went  west  with  any  political  ambi- 
tion, but  on  the  contrary  that  he  sought  only  a  fortune.  His 
letters  of  that  period  are  full  of  talk  about  the  land  that  was  to 
be  obtained  in  the  far  country,  and  there  is  no  ground  for  sup- 
posing that  he  left  Virginia  with  any  other  intent  than  that 
of  securing  an  estate  for  himself,  and  making  money  by  the 
speculation  which  is  always  incident  to  a  new  and  developing 
country.  In  the  spring  of  1775  he  carried  out  the  intent, 
frustrated  by  the  Indian  outbreak  the  year  before,  of  visiting 
the  Kentucky  country,  which  had  been  explored  by  Daniel 
Boone  and  others  a  few  years  previous.  He  remained  until 
the  fall  of  the  year,  engaging  in  surveying,  and  soon  became 
very  popular  with  the  pioneers,  who  recognized  in  the  young 
adventurer  the  qualities  of  a  leader.  He  thought  of  making 
Kentucky  his  permanent  home,  and  busied  himself  during  his 
stay  investigating  the  condition  of  the  settlement.  He  found 
that  great  dissatisfaction  prevailed.,  and  saw  that  something 
had  got  to  be  done  to  bring  about  a  better  feeling  or  the  settle- 
ment would  languish  and  perhaps  die.  Early  in  the  year 
Colonel  Richard  Henderson  &  Company  had  purchased  from 
the  Cherokee  Indians  a  large  tract  in  the  territory  that  now 
comprises  Kentucky.  [14]  There  had  been  a  considerable  tide 
of  emigration,  and  the  proprietors  had  soon  begun  to  raise 
the  price  of  their  lands,  which  had  caused  complaints.  Some 
of  the  leaders  were  trying  to  persuade  the  people  to  pay  no 
attention  to  the  company  [15],  and  trouble  was  brewing. 
Clark,  no  doubt,  saw  that  the  disturbed  condition  of  things 
afforded  an  opportunity  for  a  bold  and  venturesome  spirit  like 
himself  to  become  a  leader,  an  opportunity  which  he  would  be 
the  last  to  miss.  In  the  fall  he  returned  to  Virginia,  and  while 
there  matured  his  plans  for  bettering  the  conditions  of  Ken- 


[14]    Butler's  "Kentucky." 

[15]    "Clark's  Memoirs"  in  Dillon's  "Indiana." 


32  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

tucky.  "While  in  Virginia,"  he  says  in  his  "Memoirs,"  "I 
found  there  were  various  opinions  respecting  Henderson  & 
Company's  claim.  Many  thought  it  was  good ;  others  doubted 
whether  or  not  Virginia  could,  with  propriety,  have  any  pre- 
tensions to  the  country.  This  was  what  I  wanted  to  know. 
I  immediately  fixed  on  my  plan,  viz:  That  of  assembling  the 
people — getting  them  to  elect  deputies,  and  sending  them  to 
treat  with  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  respecting  the  condition 
of  the  country.  If  valuable  conditions  were  procured,  we 
could  declare  ourselves  citizens  of  the  state;  otherwise,  we 
might  establish  an  independent  government;  and,  by  giving 
away  a  great  part  of  the  lands,  and  disposing  of  the  remainder, 
we  would  not  only  gain  great  numbers  of  inhabitants,  but  in 
a  good  measure  protect  them." 

Earlv  in  the  summer  of  1776,  Clark  returned  to  Kentucky 
to  carry  out  his  plan.  He  induced  the  people  to  convene  at 
Harrodstown  and  the  meeting  was  held  on  June  6th.  He  did 
not  outline  his  plan  in  advance,  simply  stating  that  "something 
would  be  proposed  to  the  people  that  very  much  concerned 
their  interest.''  [16]  "The  reason  I  had  for  not  publishing  what 
I  wished  to  be  done,"  he  says  in  his  "Memoirs,"  "was  that  the 
people  should  not  get  into  parties  on  the  subject;  and  as  every 
one  would  wish  to  know  what  was  to  be  done,  there  would  be 
a  more  general  meeting."  Unfortunately  for  the  detail  of  his 
plans,  he  was  late,  and  before  he  arrived  the  meeting  had 
elected  him  and  Gabriel  Jones  as  delegates  to  the  Virginia 
Assembly,  with  petition  praying  for  the  establishment  of  a 
new  county,  instead  of  electing  them  as  "deputies  under  the 
authority  of  the  people,"  as  he  had  wished  [17],  and  he  could 
not  prevail  upon  them  to  change  the  principle.  Clark  and 
Jones  immediately  set  out  on  their  long  journey  through  the 
trackless  wilderness  to  Williamsburg,  where  the  Virginia 


[16]    "Clark's  Memoirs." 
[17]    "Clark's  Memoirs." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  33 

Assembly  was  sitting.  They  hoped  to  get  there  before  the 
session  ended,  but,  after  enduring  the  greatest  hardships  and 
suffering,  they  arrived  in  Virginia  too  late.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  wait  until  the  fall  session  for  a  hearing,  and 
Clark  determined  to  attempt  in  the  interim  to  get  some  powder 
for  the  Kentuckians,  who  needed  it  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  Indians.  Jones  went  to  Holston  to  join  the  forces 
about  to  set  out  against  the  Cherokees,  who  had  begun  hos- 
tilities, and  Clark  proceeded  to  Williamsburg  alone.  Patrick 
Henry,  who  was  then  governor  of  Virginia,  was  lying  sick  at 
his  seat  in  Hanover,  and  Clark  visited  him  there.  Henry  was 
favorably  impressed  with  Clark,  and  gave  him  a  letter  to  the 
Council  recommending  the  granting  of  his  request  for  five 
hundred  pounds  of  powder.  The  Council,  however,  took  a 
very  different  view  of  the  matter,  and  at  first  could  not  be  pur- 
suaded  to  do  more  than  to  let  him  have  the  powder  as  a  loan 
for  which  he  was  to  be  personally  responsible  in  the  event  that 
the  Assembly  declined  to  receive  the  Kentuckians  as  citizens. 
Clark,  who  probably  secretly  favored  the  plan  of  an  inde- 
pendent state,  declined  the  offer,  writing  to  the  Council  that  "if 
a  country  was  not  worth  protecting,  it  was  not  worth  claim- 
ing." [18]  "I  resolved,"  he  said,  "to  return  the  order  I  had 
received  [issued  to  the  keeper  of  the  magazine]  and  repair  at 
once  to  Kentucky,  knowing  that  the  people  would  readily  fall 
into  my  first  plan — as  what  had  passed  had  almost  reduced  it 
to  a  certainty  of  success."  The  letter  brought  the  Council  to 
time;  Clark  was  recalled,  an  order,  dated  August  23rd,  1776, 
was  issued  for  conveying  the  powder  to  Pittsburg,  there  to 
await  Clark's  orders;  and  a  beginning  was  made  in  a  series 
of  events  which  was  to  give  Virginia,  and  ultimately  the  United 
States,  the  magnificent  country  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  At 
the  fall  session  Clark  and  Jones  appeared  before  the  Assembly, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  Colonel  Richard  Henderson 


[18]    "Clark's  Memoirs." 


34  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

and  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell,  secured  the  passage  of  an  act 
creating  the  County  of  Kentucky.  It  was  dated  December 
7th,  1776,  and  it  gave  a  political  existence  to  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Kentucky. 

It  does  not  appear  that  up  to  this  time  Clark  had  had  any 
idea  of  reducing  the  British  posts.  His  sole  object  had  appar- 
ently been  to  give  the  country  of  Kentucky  a  political  exist- 
ence, and  it  is  a  reasonable  conclusion  that  what  he  wanted 
was  an  independent  state  in  which  he  might  be  the  leading 
spirit,  notwithstanding  that  in  one  place  in  his  "Memoirs"  he 
speaks  of  "being  a  little  prejudiced  in  favor  of  his  mother 
country"  [19],  which  made  him  willing  to  meet  the  Virginia 
Council  half  way  in  the  matter  of  getting  a  supply  of  powder. 
His  real  intent,  it  seems  to  me,  is  apparent  from  his  declaration 
that  "if  valuable  conditions  were  procured  we  [the  people  of 
Kentucky]  could  declare  ourselves  citizens  of  the  state;  other- 
wise ire  could  establish  an  independent  government"  [20] ;  from 
his  chagrin  at  the  action  of  the  Harrodsburg  meeting  in  peti- 
tioning the  Virginia  Assembly  to  accept  them  as  citizens, 
instead  of  electing  deputies  to  treat  with  the  Virginia  govern- 
ment in  the  name  of  a  people  already  organized;  and  by  his 
willingness  to  break  off  the  negotiations  with  the  Virginia 
Council  for  powder,  and  to  return  to  Kentucky,  "knowing 
that  the  people  would  readily  fall  into  his  first  plan."  [21]  It 
is  perhaps  safe  to  say  that  until  some  years  after  the  date  of 
Clark's  first  visit  to  Kentucky  the  opinion  was  general  that 
the  country  beyond  the  mountains  would  have  a  separate  gov- 
ernment, and  Clark  only  sought  to  bring  about  what  was  gen- 
erally expected. 

Word  had  been  sent  to  Kentucky  that  powder  was  to  be 
obtained  at  Pittsburg,  but  the  letter  never  arrived,  and  Clark 
and  Jones,  hearing  that  the  ammunition  was  still  undelivered, 

[19]  Dillon's  "Indiana." 
[20]  Dillon's  "Indiana." 
[21]  "Memoirs." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  35 

determined  to  return  to  Kentucky  by  way  of  the  Ohio  River 
and  take  it  with  them.  Pittsburg  was  surrounded  at  the  time 
with  hostile  Indians,  which  made  a  guard  necessary  for  the  safe 
transportation  of  the  powder.  They  embarked  with  seven  boat- 
men, and  though  hotly  pursued  by  Indians,  managed  to  reach 
the  mouth  of  Limestone  Creek,  where  they  secreted  the  pow- 
der, and  Clark  returned  to  Harrodsburg.  Jones  joined  a  party, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Todd,  and  lost  his  life  in  an  attempt 
to  return  for  the  powder  [22],  but  Clark  afterwards  secured 
a  convoy,  and  conveyed  it  safely  to  Harrodsburg,  where 
it  was  badly  needed  for  protection  against  the  Indians 
who  were  making  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  The  condition  of 
the  country  was  infinitely  worse  in  1777  than  it  was  when  Clark 
had  left  the  summer  before,  and  it  was  while  he  was  actively 
engaged  in  defending  Harrodsburg  from  the  assaults  of  the 
Indians  that  he  conceived  the  plan  of  reducing  the  British 
forts,  and  subduing  the  Indians  by  removing  the  cause  which 
incited  them  to  hostilities.  Kentucky  was  experiencing  the 
horrors  of  Indian  warfare,  and  scarcely  a  day  passed  without 
bloodshed.  Clark  found  time,  while  fighting  the  Indians,  to 
keep  a  journal,  the  laconic  entries  of  which  furnish  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  hand-to-hand  combat  that  was  being  waged. 
Day  after  day,  from  March  to  September,  he  chronicled  the 
bloody  deeds  of  their  fierce  assailants,  who  gave  them  no  rest, 
night  or  day.  In  the  midst  of  this  direful  chronology  is  this 
brief  passage,  showing  the  light-hearted  character  of  the  brave 
frontiersman:  "July  9- — Lieutenant  Linn  married;  great 
merriment." 

At  this  time  the  British  held  three  forts  which  had  been 
ceded  to  them  by  France  at  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war  in  1765 — Detroit,  on  the  Great  Lakes;  Kaskaskia,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Kaskaskia  River,  seven  miles  above  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Mississippi;  and  St.  Vincent's,  now  Vincennes, 

[22]    Perkins'  "Western  Annals,"  p.  161. 


36  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

» 

on  the  Wabash,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  its  mouth. 
From  these  forts  the  Indians  were  sent  out,  armed  and 
equipped,  to  prey  upon  the  settlements  along  the  western 
border,  incited  to  murder  by  a  reward  for  scalps.  No  reward 
was  offered  for  prisoners,  and  consequently  no  mercy  was 
shown  to  the  poor  settler  who  fell  into  their  hands.  Without 
the  aid  of  tl]e  British,  the  Indians  could  not  have  held  out  long 
against  the  valiant  men  who  had  undertaken  the  defense  of  the 
settlements.  The  downfall  of  the  forts,  therefore,  meant  a 
speedy  end  to  the  Indian  troubles,  if  nothing  more.  Each  of 
these  forts — which  were  strong  stockades  with  block  houses  at 
the  corners — was  surrounded  by  a  town  inhabited  mostly  by 
French  habitants,  an  easy-going,  light-hearted,  picturesque 
people,  who  hunted  or  trapped  or  farmed  for  a  living,  and  filled 
their  idle  hours  with  mirth  and  music,  caring  little  about  who 
governed  them  so  long  as  they  were  not  interfered  with.  They 
gave  a  careless  obedience  to  the  English,  but  they  had  no  very 
great  love  for  them,  and  naturally  would  have  sympathized 
with  the  Americans  but  for  the  misrepresentations  of  the 
British,  who  poured  into  their  ears  frightful  tales  of  the  cruelty 
and  ferocity  of  the  Long  Knives,  as  the  colonists  were  called. 
In  spite  of  those  stories,  many  of  them  had  a  friendly  feeling 
for  the  settlers,  as  was  later  clearly  shown  by  their  readiness  to 
aid  in  the  overthrow  of  their  British  masters  when  the  forts 
were  attacked.  Their  friendship  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
success  of  the  Illinois  campaign. 

THE    ILLINOIS    CAMPAIGN. 

Clark  understood  the  whole  situation  perfectly,  and,  with 
the  grasp  of  a  great  military  genius,  saw  that  the  quickest  and 
surest  way  to  obtain  peace  was  to  carry  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country.  Without  consulting  anybody,  or  taking 
anybody  into  his  confidence,  he  sent  two  young  hunters  to  the 
British  posts  in  the  capacity  of  spies,  and  from  them  learned 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  37 

that  they  were  not  strongly  garrisoned,  though  they  were  very 
active.  They  reported,  what  Clark  suspected,  that,  despite 
the  misrepresentations  of  the  British  regarding  the  Ameri- 
cans, there  were  many  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns 
who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  colonists  and  would  aid  them. 
Clark  knew  that  the  British  hope  of  uniting  the  western 
tribes  in  an  alliance  that  would  destroy  the  frontier  was  but 
half  realized,  that  some  of  the  tribes  were  divided  in  feeling, 
and  that  if  the  British  in  the  Northwest  could  be  expelled,  the 
Indians  could  soon  be  awed  into  quiet.  Having  his  plans  fully 
matured,  he  left  Harrodsburg  on  October  ist  to  make  the  long 
journey  to  Virginia  alone,  fearing  not  the  dangers  of  the 
wilderness.  He  arrived  in  Williamsburg  on  November  5th, 
and,  while  busying  himself  settling  the  accounts  of  the  Ken- 
tucky militia,  carefully  noted  everything  that  indicated  the 
disposition  of  those  in  power.  Burgoyne  having  surrendered 
while  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  capitol,  "and  things  seeming  to 
wear  a  pleasant  aspect/'  as  he  says  in  his  "Memoirs," on  Decem- 
ber loth  he  laid  his  scheme  before  Governor  Henry.  He  also 
consulted  George  Mason,  George  Wythe  and  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, but  he  was  careful  not  to  divulge  his  plans  to  others,  lest 
they  should  become  generally  known  and  be  defeated  by 
reports  reaching  the  posts  he  intended  to  attack.  Those  to 
whom  he  communicated  his  design  entered  into  the  spirit  of  it 
heartily.  They  saw  in  it  a  means  of  diverting  the  savage  attack 
upon  the  western  frontier  that  had  already  fallen  upon  the 
frontiers  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  they  lent  all  their 
influence  to  securing  for  Clark  the  aid  which  he  needed. 
Under  the  pretext  that  supplies  were  needed  for  the  defense  of 
Kentucky,  they  secured  the  necessary  legislation,  £1,200  in  the 
depreciated  currency  of  the  state  being  voted  to  him  to  cover 
his  expenses.  Governor  Henry  made  him  a  colonel,  and  in 
[anuary  he  departed  with  two  sets  of  instructions,  one  public, 
the  other  private.  The  first  authorized  him  to  enlist  seven 


38  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

companies  of  men  "in  any  county  of  the  commonwealth,"  who 
were  to  proceed  with  him  to  Kentucky,  there  to  obey  such 
orders  and  directions  as  he  should  give  them.  The  second 
directed  him  to  take  his  force  and  "attack  the  British  post  at 
Kaskasky,"  the  Governor  earnestly  desiring  him  to  "show 
humanity  to  such  British  subjects  and  other  persons"  as  fell 
into  his  hands.  If  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  post  gave 
evidence  of  their  attachment  to  the  state  by  taking  the  test 
prescribed  by  law,  their  persons  and  property  were  to  be  duly 
secured,  but  'if  they  would  not  accede  to  those  reasonable 
demands,  "they  must  feel  the  Miseries  •  of  War,  under  the 
direction  of  that  Humanity  that  had  hitherto  distinguished 
Americans,"  etc.  [23] 

Proceeding  to  Pittsburg,  Clark  began  the  work  of  raising 
his  companies,  but  owing  to  a  dispute  between  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  fact  that  there  was  reluctance  to  send 
men  to  Kentucky  when  they  were  wanted  nearer  home,  he  had 
great  difficulty  in  securing  recruits.  He  finally  raised  three 
companies,  and,  hearing  that  four  companies  had  been  raised 
by  the  officers  whom  he  had  sent  to  Kentucky  for  the  purpose, 
started  down  the  river  with  his  three  companies  of  fifty  men 
each,  taking  supplies  at  Pittsburg  and  Wheeling.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  Corn  Island,  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  the 
point  where  the  city  of  Louisville  now  stands,  to  await  the 
arrival  of  the  Kentucky  troups.  Only  one  of  the  Kentucky 
companies  appeared,  and  when  Clark  revealed  the  true  object 
of  the  expedition  many  of  his  men  deserted.  However,  enough 
remained  to  make  four  companies,  and  on  June  24th,  1778,  the 
expedition  started,  leaving  a  few  men  to  guard  the  island.  On 
that  day  the  sun  was  in  eclipse,  and  they  shot  the  falls  at  the 
moment  when  it  became  total, — a  circumstance  which,  Clark- 
says,  "caused  various  conjectures  among  the  superstitious.'' 
A  less  resolute  man,  starting  upon  so  great  an  undertaking 


[23]    Appendix  to  "Clark's  Campaign." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  39 

with  so  small  an  army  [24],  might  have  seen  in  it  an  augury  of 
defeat;  but  Clark  was  an  army  in  himself,  and  he  had  news  of 
the  alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States,  which  he 
knew  would  help  him  with  the  French  settlers  at  Kaskaskia,  so 
he  proceeded,  not  at  all  disturbed  by  the  phenomenon  that  so 
alarmed  some  of  his  soldiers. 

It  was  Clark's  original  intention  to  proceed  against 
Vincennes  from  Corn  Island,  but,  being  informed  that  the  post 
was  held  by  a  strong  garrison,  he  determined  to  strike 
Kaskaskia  first.  Kaskaskia  at  that  time  consisted  of  a  fort 
and  a  town  [25]  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Frenchmen.  If 
he  could  overcome  the  prejudices  aroused  by  the  British,  Clark 
felt  that  he  could  gain  the  support  of  the  French  residents,  and 
he  hoped  to  increase  his  strength  sufficiently  to  make  the  con- 
quest of  the  more  powerful  Vincennes  easy.  Deliberating 
upon  his  plans  as  he  proceeded,  he  urged  his  men  to  the 
greatest  efforts.  The  oars  were  double-manned  and  plied 
night  and  day.  Their  progress  was  rapid,  and  on  June  28th 
they  reached  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee.  As 
the  river  below  the  Illinois  towns  was  being  watched  by  spies, 
Clark  had  determined  to  make  a  portion  of  the  journey  over- 
land, and  he  made  a  landing  on  the  island  to  prepare  for  the 
march.  Here  their  boats  brought  in  "a  party  of  hunters  from 
whom  Clark  obtained  some  valuable  information  concerning 
the  posts  he  was  about  to  attack.  They  informed  Clark  that 
the  French  had  a  "horrid  idea  of  the  barbarity  of  the  Rebels, 
especially  the  Virginians,"  and  the  astute  commander  saw  in 
this  piece  of  news  a  circumstance  that  could  be  turned  to 
advantage.  "I  was  determined,"  he  says  in  his  Memoirs,  "to 
improve  upon  this  if  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  them  into 


[24]  Dunn  places  the  number  at  153.  Governor  Henry  in  a  letter  speaks 
of  170  or  180,  and  Major  Bowman  also  says  170  or  180.  but  both  had  in  mind 
the  number  gathered  at  Corn  Island,  and  as  Clark,  had  left  a  squad  there, 
his  army  probably  did  not  exceed  153. 

[25]  The  number  of  houses  is  variously  estimated  at  from  80  to  250. 
See  Perkins'  "Annals,"  pp.  176-178,  and  "Magazine  of  Western  History," 
Vol.  ii.,  p.  138. 


40  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

my  possession;  as  I  conceived  the  greater  the  shock  I  could 
give  them  at  first,  the  more  sensibly  would  they  feel  my  lenity, 
and  become  more  valuable  friends." 

Everything  being  in  readiness,  the  boats  were  concealed  in 
a  small  creek  nine  miles  below  the  island  and  one  mile  above 
old  Fort  Massac,  and  without  a  cannon,  or  means  of  transport- 
ing supplies,  the  little  army  started  on  its  march  of  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  over  the  prairies.  After  getting  lost,  suffer- 
ing from  hunger  and  thirst, and  enduring  the  other  hardships  of 
such  a  march,  they  arrived  within  three  miles  of  Kaskaskia  on 
the  afternoon  of  July  4th.  Waiting  until  dark,  they  procured 
boats,  crossed  the  river,  and  entered  the  town,  to  find  that  the 
people,  who  had  been  under  arms  in  expectation  of  an  attack, 
had  not  been  aware  of  their  approach.  Dividing  his  army, 
Clark  ordered  one  division  to  surround  the  town,  and  with  vhe 
other  he  broke  into  the  fort  [26]  and  captured  M.  Rochblave, 
who  was  in  command.  In  fifteen  minutes  every  avenue  of 
escape  from  the  town  was  guarded.  It  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  nobody  should  get  away  to  warn  Vincennes, 
and,  to  prevent  an  attempt,  the  soldiers,  who  could  speak 
French,  were  sent  through  the  town  warning  the  people  that 
every  person  appearing  on  the  streets  would  be  shot  down,  and 
that  anybody  taken  in  an  attempt  to  escape  would  be  put  to 
death.  To  make  an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  inhab- 
itants, the  soldiers  kept  up  a  frightful-  uproar  in  all  parts  of  the 
town,  and  the  poor  people,  thinking  they  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  men  worse  than  savages,  gave  themselves  up  for  lost. 
In  the  morning  M.  Gibault,  the  priest  of  the  village,  and  five  or 
six  aged  citizens  waited  on  Clark,  and  asked  that  before  the 
people  were  separated  forever  they  be  allowed  to  assemble  in 
the  church  and  hold  a  farewell  service,  a  request  which,  of 


[26]  A  great  historical  painting1  in  the  capitol  at  Springfield,  111.,  shows 
the  fort  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  following  Butler's  statement  in  his 
history  of  Kentucky,  but  it  is  now  known  that  the  old  fort  on  the  east  side 
was  burned  in  176fi.  and  the  fort  that  Clark  took  was  in  the  town.  See 
"Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  vol.  vii.,  pp.  719-722. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  41 

course,  Clark  granted  readily,  the  time  for  leniency  having 
come.  After  the  service,  which  was  attended  by  almost  every 
inhabitant  of  the  town,  a  deputation  again  waited  upon  Clark, 
and,  expressing  a  willingness  to  sacrifice  their  property,  asked 
that  their  families  might  not  be  broken  up,  and  that  they  be 
given  food  upon  which  to  sustain  themselves.  This  was 
Clark's  opportunity,  and  he  embraced  it.  "Do  you  take  us  for 
savages?"  he  asked,  in  feigned  surprise.  "My  countrymen 
disdain  to  make  war  on  women  and  children.  It  was  to 
prevent  the  horrors  of  Indian  butchery  upon  our  wives  and 
children  that  we  have  taken  up  arms  and  appear  in  this  strong- 
hold of  British  and  Indian  barbarity,  and  not  the  despicable 
prospect  of  plunder."  He  told  them  of  the  alliance  between 
France  and  the  United  States,  assured  them  of  personal  and 
religious  liberty  if  they  espoused  the  American  cause,  and,  to 
show  his  sincerity,  informed  them  that  they  were  "at  liberty  to 
conduct  themselves  as  usual,  without  the  least  apprehension." 
The  joy  of  the  people  knew  no  bounds.  They  decorated  their 
streets,  sang  songs  and  manifested  their  happiness  in  different 
ways.  They  took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  raised  a  company 
of  volunteers  to  accompany  Captain  Bowman  to  Cahokia,  a 
French  settlement  a  few  miles  below  St.  Louis,  which  surren- 
dered without  a  blow.  Clark,  thinking  all  the  tirne  of  Vin- 
cennes,  took  pains  not  to  let  the  people  know  the  size  of  his 
force.  He  would  not  allow  them  to  enter  the  fort,  which  they 
supposed  was  full  of  soldiers.  He  spoke  of  a  big  force  at  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  pretended  that  he  could  summon  any 
number  of  men  from  Kentucky.  When  he  announced  that  he 
was  going  to  march  on  Vincennes,  the  people  evinced  a  desire 
to  save  their  friends  at  that  post.  Father  Gibault  thought  it 
would  not  be  necessary  to  send  troops  there,  and  he 
volunteered  to  go  with  Dr.  Lafonte  to  negotiate  a 
capitulation.  Clark  assented  to  the  proposal,  and,  with 
a  caution  that  he  never  failed  to  exhibit,  sent  a  spy 


42  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

in  their  retinue.  Vincennes  was  in  Father  Gibault's  [27] 
spiritual  jurisdiction,  and  after  he  had  explained  the 
matter  he  did  not  have  much  difficulty  in  inducing  the 
citizens  to  surrender  and  become  American  citizens.  The  few 
British  soldiers  left  there  by  Governor  Abbott,  who  had  gone 
to  Detroit  on  business,  could  not  prevent  the  action,  and  they 
withdrew  to  follow  their  chief.  "The  people  went  to  the 
village  church  in  a  body,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance;  an 
officer  was  elected,  the  fort  garrisoned,  and  the  American  flag 
was  raised  for  the  first  time  on  Indiana  soil."  [28]  Clark  in 
less  than  one  month  had  secured  possession  of  every  post  in 
the  Illinois  country  without  a  battle  or  the  loss  of  a  single  life. 
The  object  of  the  expedition  was  accomplished,  but  a  new 
problem  presented  itself.  How  was  the  country  so  easily 
acquired  to  be  held  against  the  forces  that  the  British  could  at 
any  time  send  against  it?  His  force  was  inadequate,  and  it 
threatened  to  grow  smaller.  The  term  for  which  the  men  had 
enlisted  had  expired,  and  he  had  no  authority  to  extend  it. 
Moreover,  the  Virginia  currency  in  his  possession  would  buy 
nothing  in  the  Illinois  country.  Clark,  however,  was  not  a 
man  to  be  stopped  by  ordinary  obstacles.  Authority  or  no 
authority,  the  country  had  to.  be  held,  and  he  was  the  man 
to  hold  it.  He  met  this,  as  he  met  every  other  emergency,  with 
a  sagacity  and  self-reliance  that  marked  him  as  a  great  man. 
He  induced  about  one  hundred  of  the  men  to  reenlist  for  eight 
months,  under  promise  of  liberal  pay.  The  others  he  sent 
home,  and  had  them  take  Rochblave  a  prisoner  to  Williams- 
burg,  besides  carrying  dispatches  to  the  Virginia  government. 
Then  he  put  Captain  Bowman  in  charge  of  Cahokia  and 
Captain  Helm  in  command  of  Vincennes,  and  turned  his 
attention  to  the  Indians.  Through  Captain  Helm,  whom  he 


[27]  Judge  Law,  in  his  "Colonial  History  of  Vincennes,"  says  of 
Gibault:  "To  whom,  next  to  Clark  and  Vigo,  the  United  States  is  indebted 
for  the  accession  of  the  states  comprised  in  what  was  the  original  North- 
west Territory,  more  than  any  other  man." 

[28]    Dunn's  "Indiana." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  43 

had  made  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  on  the  Wabash,  he 
negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  Piankeshaws,  and  soon  all  the 
tribes  in  the  vicinity  were  flocking  in  to  make  peace  with  the 
great  white  warrior.  He  held  a  council  with  the  Indians  at 
Cahokia,  and,  with  characteristic  coolness,  treated  them  with 
contempt  until  he  had  awed  them,  and  then,  with  apparent 
reluctance,  granted  a  peace  that  he  desired  above  all  things. 
His  negotiations  with  the  Indians  lasted  five  weeks,  and  they 
had  an  influence  upon  all  the  tribes  around  the  great  lakes. 

Meanwhile  Governor  Hamilton  at  Detroit  had  heard  of  the 
state  of  affairs  in  the  Illinois  country.  In  the  fall  he  started  out 
with  a  force  of  regulars,  Canadian  volunteers  and  Indians  [29] 
to  recapture  the  posts.  On  December  I5th  he  took  Vincennes, 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  made  no  attempt  to  defend. 
Captain  Helm  and  one  soldier,  Moses  Henry,  held  the  fort. 
When  the  British  appeared  they  found  a  loaded  cannon  point- 
ing at  them  through  the  open  gate.  Helm,  standing  beside  it 
with  a  lighted  match,  commanded  the  British  to  halt.  Hamil- 
ton called  upon  the  fort  to  surrender.  Helm  exclaimed  with  an 
oath,  "No  man  shall  enter  until  I  know  the  terms."  Hamilton 
answered,  "You  shall  have  the  honors  of  war,"  and  was  aston- 
ished to  see  the  captain  and  one  man  walk  out!  [30]  Thinking 
it  too  late  to  operate  against  the  rest  of  the  country,  Hamilton 
sent  out  his  Indians  to  harass  the  Americans  and  prevent 
troops  joining  them  by  way  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  then  sat 
down  to  pass  the  winter  in  Vincennes. 

CLARK'S  CAPTURE'  OP  VINCENNES. 

On  the  strength  of  the  dispatches  announcing  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  British  posts,  the  Virginia  Assembly  had  in  October 
erected  the  country  beyond  the  Ohio  into  the  County  of  Illinois, 

[29]  Clark  ("Campaign,"  p.  52)  says  there  were  800  men.  Dillon  makes 
the  number  480. 

[30]  This  anecdote  is  related  in  Perkins"  "Annals"  and  Butler's 
"Kentucky." 


44  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

but  the  county  and  Clark  were  now  in  a  fair  way  to  pass  into 
the  hands  of  the  British.  Early  in  January  a  scouting  party 
sent  out  by  Hamilton  almost  succeeded  in  capturing  Clark 
while  he  was  on  his  way  from  Cahokia.  Supposing  that  the 
party  was  the  advance  guard  of  Hamilton's  army,  Clark  called 
Captain  Bowman  from  Cahokia  and  made  preparations  for 
defending  Kaskaskia.  In  the  midst  of  the  preparations 
Colonel  Francis  Vigo,  a  Spanish  merchant,  arrived  from  Vin- 
cennes,  and  gave  Clark  information  which  changed  his  mind, 
and  gave  a  new  direction  to  his  energies.  Judge  Law  says 
that  Vigo  was  sent  to  Vincennes  by  Clark  in  the  capacity  of  a 
spy,  that  he  was  captured  by  Indians  on  his  way  and  taken 
before  Hamilton,  and  got  off  with  great  difficulty,  in  which 
statement  most  of  the  historians  have  followed  him,  but  Clark 
nowhere  mentions  that  fact,  and  speaks  of  Vigo's  having  been 
at  the  fort  when  it  was  taken.  [31]  Neither  does  Vigo  men- 
tion the  fact  in  his  memorial  to  Congress  [32]  for  the  payment 
of  a  claim  growing  out  of  advances  made  to  Clark,  though  he 
speaks  of  having  given  Clark  the  information  which  enabled 
him  to  surprise  Hamilton,  and  Major  Bauman  says  in  his 
Journal  that  Vigo  was  there  on  "his  lawful  business.'1  [33] 
Vigo  was  an  Indian  trader,  with  headquarters  at  St.  Louis, 
who  took  a  great  interest  in  Clark,  and.  by  advancing  money 
on  his  drafts  enabled  him  to  get  supplies  when  he  must  other- 
wise have  failed.  [34]  From  Vigo  Clark  learned  that  Hamil- 
ton had  sent  away  his  Indians  and  most  of  his  soldiers,  retain- 
ing only  a  force  of  eighty  men  at  the  fort,  and  did  not  contem- 
plate an  attack  upon  Kaskaskia  until  spring.  Though  it  was 
in  the  dead  of  winter,  and  the  expedition  must  be  attended  with 
great  hardships  and  danger,  the  daring  leader  determined  to 


[31]     "Clark's  Campaign,"  p.  63. 

[32]     "House  Report,  No.  117,"  33rd  Congress,  first  session,  etc. 

[33]     "Journal." 

[34]    For  history  of  Vigo's  claim,  see  "Magazine  of  Western  History," 
January,  1885,  p.  230. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  45 

attack  Vincennes  and  beard  the  British  lion  in  his  den.  With- 
out the  loss  of  an  hour,  he  set  about  preparing  for  the  expedi- 
tion that  was  to  go  down  in  history  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
in  the  annals  of  American  warfare.  He  received  his  first 
definite  information  concerning  Hamilton's  movements  on 
January  29th,  and  on  February  4th  he  had  a  big  "battoe," 
mounted  with  two  four-pounders  and  four  large  swivel  guns, 
and  filled  with  provisions,  ready  to  go  down  the  river  and  aid 
in  the  attack.  She  was  named  The  Willing,  and  Clark  says 
that  she  "was  much  admired  by  the  inhabitants,  as  no  such 
thing  had  been  seen  in  the  country  before."  Lieutenant 
Rogers  was  placed  in  command  of  The  Willing,  which  had  a 
crew  of  forty-six  men.  He  had  instructions  to  force  his  way 
up  the  Wabash  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  White  River,  there  to 
secrete  himself  until  he  received  further  orders.  On  the  next 
day  Clark,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy  men,  started  on  his 
overland  march,  "after  receiving  a  lecture  and  absolution  from 
the  priest.''  They  crossed  the  Kaskaskia  River,  marched 
three  miles,  and  then  encamped.  What  the  reckless  com- 
mander may  have  thought  as  he  lay  in  camp  can  only  be  con- 
jectured, but  the  mind  of  the  bravest  man  might  well  have 
been  filled  with  dismay  at  the  thought  of  the  difficulties  ahead 
of  him.  There  was  a  painful  march  of  two  hundred  miles  [35] 
to  be  made  over  a  country  that  was  well  nigh  impassable. 
There  had  been  heavy  rains,  and  the  rivers,  choked  with  float- 
ing ice,  had  overflowed  their  banks  and  covered  the  prairies, 
converting  portions  of  the  plains  into  veritable  lakes.  Where 
there  was  no  water  there  was  mud,  deep  as  only  Illinois  mud 
can  be.  The  weather  was  comparatively  mild  at  the  time,  but 
it  was  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  intense  cold  might  be 
expected  at  any  moment.  Altogether,  the  prospect  was  most 
disheartening,  but  if  the  fearless  captain  felt  any  dismay  he  has 
left  no  record  of  it. 


[35]    The  distance  actually  marched  is  variously  estimated  from  160  to 
250  miles. 


46  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

Captain,  afterwards  Major,  Bowman,  who  accompanied  the 
expedition,  kept  a  journal,  the  terse  entries  of  which  tell  the 
sufferings  endured  on  that  terrible  march,  better  than  anything 
Clark  wrote.  Clark  dwells  upon  the  means  employed  to 
accomplish  his  ends,  but  passes  lightly  over  the  suffering  of  his 
men.  [36]  On  the  7th  the  expedition  set  out  again.  In  six 
days  the  Little  Wabash  was  reached.  The  chief  difficulty, 
Clark  says,  had  been  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  his  men.  This  he 
did  by  encouraging  them  to  shoot  game  and  hold  nightly 
entertainments  in  the  shape  of  games  and  feasts.  The  Little 
Wabash  presented  the  greatest  obstacle  they  had  yet  encoun- 
tered. The  river  and  one  of  its  affluents  had  united  their 
floods  and  formed  a  lake  from  three  to  five  miles  wide.  Clark 
confesses  that  he  viewed  this  sheet  of  water  with  distrust,  but 
he  sat  about  building  a  raft,  and  pretended  that  the  crossing 
would  be  nothing  more  than  a  diversion.  The  "diversion" 
occupied  them  for  three  days,  and  the  men  had  to  wade 
through  water  four  feet  deep  to  reach  the  opposite  bank,  after 
the  ammunition  had  been  ferried  across.  The  next  day  their 
provisions  commenced  to  run  short,  and  hunger  began  to 
aggravate  their  sufferings.  On  the  i7th  they  reached  the 
Embarrass  River,  and  found  it  impassable.  Until  8  o'clock  at 
night  they  marched  up  and  down  the  river  in  search  of  a  dry 
spot.  Finally,  in  the  words  of  Major  Bowman,  "we  found  the 
water  falling  from  a  small  spot  of  ground.  Staid  there  the 
remainder  of  the  night.  Drizzly  and  dark  weather."  [37] 
Four  men  had  been  sent  out  to  cross  the  river  and  steal  some 
boats  from  a  plantation  to  ferry  the  army  across  the  Wabash, 
but  the  attempt  failed.  On  the  i8th,  to  continue  with  Major 
Bowman's  narrative,  "at  daybreak  heard  Governor  Hamilton's 


[36]  Clark  in  his  letter  to  George  Mason  says:  "If  I  was  sensible  that 
you  would  let  no  person  see  this  relation,  I  would  give  you  a  detail  of  our 
sufferings  for  four  days  in  crossing  these  waters,  and  the  manner  it  was 
done,  as  I  am  sure  you  would  credit  it;  but  it  is  too  incredible  for  any 
person  to  believe,  except  those  that  are  as  well  acquainted  with  me  as  you 
are,  or  had  experience  something  similar  to  it." — "Campaign,"  p.  66. 

[37]    Appendix  to  "Clark's  Campaign,"  p.  102. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  47 

morning  gun.  Set  off  and  marched  down  the  river — saw  some 
fine  land.  About  2  o'clock  came  to  the  banks  of  the  Wabash ; 
made  rafts  for  four  men  to  cross  and  go  up  to  town  and  st^al 
boats;  but  they  spent  the  day  and  night  in  the  water  to  no  pur- 
pose ;  for  there  was  not  one  foot  of  dry  land  to  be  found/'  The 
next  day  a  canoe  was  built,  and  Captain  McCarty  set  out  with 
three  men  to  make  another  attempt  to  steal  boats.  He  had  not 
gone  far  before  he  discovered  four  large  fires,  which  seemed  to 
be  the  fires  of  Indians  and  whites,  and  he  returned.  Clark  then 
dispatched  two  men  in  the  canoe  to  go  after  The  Willing,  with 
orders  to  have  her  proceed  without  rest  to  the  rescue  of  his 
starving  company.  It  was  their  last  hope,  Major  Bowman 
says,  and  many  of  the  men  were  downcast.  He  closes  his 
entry  for  that  day:  "No  provisions  now  for  two  days.  Hard 
fortune!"  It  was  hard  fortune  indeed. 

On  the  2Oth  the  men  began  to  despair,  and  for  the  first  time 
the  French  volunteers  talked  of  returning,  but  Clark  laughed 
away  their  fears,  and  told  them  he  would  be  glad  if  they  would 
go  out  and  kill  some  deer.  They  shot  one,  "which,"  says  the 
hungry  Major,  "was  brought  into  camp  very  acceptably."  To 
keep  them  occupied,  Clark  set  the  men  to  work  building 
canoes,  and  during  the  day  a  party  of  hunters  told  them  of  two 
canoes  that  were  floating  in  the  river,  one  of  which  was 
captured.  They  also  told  them  that  the  British  had  not  yet 
discovered  their  presence.  At  daybreak  on  the  following 
morning  the  work  of  ferrying  the  men  across  the  river  began. 
They  were  landed  on  a  small  hill,  and,  hoping  to  reach  town 
that  night,  waded  through  water  up  to  their  necks  to  a  second 
hill  three  miles  away.  Here  they  were  surrounded  by  water. 
The  nearest  spot  of  dry  land  was  a  small  elevation  called  the 
Sugar  Camp,  nearly  a  league  away.  To  transport  the  men 
there  in  boats  would  take  a  day  and  night,  which  was  a  long 
time  to  starving  men.  Wading  being  the  only  way  out  of  the 
difficulty,  Clark  assumed  an  air  of  bravado,  blackened  his  face 


48  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

with  powder,  gave  a  warwhoop  and  plunged  into  the  water, 
with  his  officers  at  his  heels.  "The  party  gazed,"  he  says  in  his 
Memoirs,  "and  fell  in  one  after  another,  without  saying  a  word, 
like  a  flock  of  sheep.  I  ordered  those  near  me  to  begin  a 
favorite  song  of  theirs;  it  soon  passed  through  the  line,  and  the 
whole  went  on  cheerfully."  [38]  The  water  was  up  to  their 
necks,  but  they  reached  Sugar  Camp  in  safety.  That  day  the 
men  had  nothing  to  eat,  and  that  night  the  weather  turned  so 
cold  that  their  clothing  froze  to  them,  and  ice  half  an  inch  thick 
formed  on  the  water.  No  tidings  had  been  received  from  The 
Willing.  "Heard  the  evening  and  morning  guns  from  the 
fort,"  says  Major  Bowman.  "No  provisions  yet.  Lord 
help  us!" 

The  morning  broke  bright  and  clear.  Before  the  starving 
and  half  frozen  band  of  heroes  lay  Horseshoe  Plain,  covered 
for  four  miles  with  icy  water  breast  deep,  through  which  they 
must  wade  to  reach  Vincennes.  Clark  addressed  his  men, 
encouraging  them  to  make  a  last  effort.  Within  sight  was 
their  goal;  they  had  but  to  reach  the  wood  beyond  the  plain, 
and  their  hardships  would  be  over.  Without  waiting  for  a 
reply  he  dashed  into  the  water,  breaking  the  ice  as  he  went. 
The  men  answered  with  a  hurrah  and  followed.  When  a  few 
had  entered  he  sent  Major  Bowman  back  with  a  detachment  to 
put  to  death  any  man  who  refused  to  march.  The  order  was 
greeted  with  another  shout,  and  the  men  rushed  after  their 
dauntless  leader.  Strong  as  he  was,  Clark  found  himself  fail- 
ing before  he  reached  the  middle  of  the  plain,  and  as  there  were 
no  trees  or  bushes  for  the  men  to  cling  to,  he  began  to  fear  that 
many  would  drown.  He  directed  the  canoes  to  hurry  back 
and  forth,  picking  up  the  men  who  were  weak  and  numb  with 
cold.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered  some  of  the  stronger  men 
forward  with  instructions  to  send  back  word  that  the  water  was 
getting  shallower,  and  when  they  got  to  the  wood  to  cry  out 


[38]    Dillon's  "Indiana,"  p.  143. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  49 

"land!"  The  stratagem  had  the  desired  effect;  the  strong 
helped  the  weak,  and  they  renewed  their  struggles  to  reach  the 
wood.  There  the  water  was  no  shallower,  but  the  exhausted 
men  could  cling  to  the  trees  or  float  upon  logs  until  they  were 
picked  up  by  the  canoes.  The  strongest  men  reached  the 
shore  almost  exhausted.  "Many,"  says  Clark,  "would  reach 
the  shore  and  fall  with  their  bodies  half  in  the  water,  not  being 
able  to  support  themselves  without  it."  The  day  had  grown 
warm,  and,  under  the  influence  of  the  sunshine  and  the  fires 
built  by  those  who  reached  the  shore  first,  the  men  soon 
revived.  Fortune  began  to  smile  upon  them.  Their  boats 
captured  an  Indian  canoe  in  which  some  squaws  and  children 
were  taking  provisions  to  town.  In  it  they  found  a  quarter  of 
a  buffalo,  some  corn,  tallow  and  kettles.  Broth  was  made  and 
served  to  the  famished  soldiers.  The  spirits  of  the  party  rose 
rapidly,  and  the  past  hardships  became  matters  of  jest.  In  the 
afternoon  they  crossed  a  lake  in  their  canoes,  marched  a  short 
distance,  and  rested  in  a  belt  of  timber  with  Vincennes  in  full 
view.  From  a  hunter  who  was  taken  prisoner,  it  was  learned 
that  the  towrn  was  still  in  ignorance  of  the  approach  of  the 
Americans  and  that  it  was  full  of  Indians. 

The  situation  in  which  the  little  army  now  found  itself  was 
critical  in  the  extreme.  A  few  hours  would  determine  its 
fate,  and  it  was  victory  or  death.  Retreat  was  out  of  the 
question.  Behind  them  lay  miles  of  flood,  which,  in  their 
exhausted  and  half-famished  condition,  they  could  not  re-pass. 
In  front  of  them  was  a  town  filled  with  Indians  and  British 
soldiers.  Capture  meant  torture  at  the  hands  of  the  savages. 
Their  only  hope  was  in  the  success  of  a  bold  play  to  secure 
possession  of  the  town.  The  Willing  had  not  arrived,  and  no 
assistance  could  be  counted  upon  from  that  direction.  As  they 
were  sure  to  be  discovered  before  night,  Clark  determined  to 
begin  operations  at  once.  He  knew  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  were  favorable  to  the  Americans,  or  at  least  lukewarm  in 


50  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

their  attachment  to  the  British,  and  he  knew  also  that  Chief 
Tobac,  with  whom  a  treaty  had  been  made  some  time  before, 
was  on  hand,  and  had  openly  avowed  his  friendship  for  the  Big 
Knives.  Encouraged  by  those  circumstances  to  hope  for 
assistance  from  the  town,  he  began  his  operations  by  sending 
the  following  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants,  using  his 
prisoner  for  a  herald : 

To  the  Inhabitants  of  Post  Vlncennes: 

Gentlemen — Being  now  within  two  miles  of  your  village, 
with  my  army,  determined  to  take  your  fort  this  night,  and  not 
being  willing  to  surprise  you,  I  take  this  method  to  request 
such  of  you  as  are  true  citizens,  and  willing  to  enjoy  the  liberty 
I  bring  you,  to  remain  still  in  your  houses;  and  those,  if  any 
there  be,  that  are  friends  of  the  king,  will  instantly  repair  to 
the  fort  and  join  the  hair-buyer  [39]  general,  and  fight  like  men. 
And  if  any  such  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort  shall  be  discovered 
afterward,  they  may  depend  on  severe  punishment.  On  the 
contrary,  those  who  are  true  friends  of  liberty  may  depend  on 
being  well  treated ;  and  I  once  more  request  them  to  keep  out 
of  the  streets.  For  every  one  I  find  in  arms  on  my  arrival  1 
shall  treat  him  as  an  enemy.  [40] 

[Signed]  G.  R.  CLARK. 

Clark  was  a  little  disturbed  by  the  fact  that  nothing  had 
been  heard  from  the  fort,  not  so  much  as  a  drum  beat.  He 
feared  that  his  information  had  not  been  reliable;  that  the 
enemy  knew  of  his  presence  and  was  expecting  him.  But  the 
suspicion  did  not  deter  him  from  acting.  With  marvelous 
cunning,  he  took  advantage  of  favorable  circumstances  to 
deceive  the  people  as  to  the  strength  of  his  army,  and  so  timed 
his  manoeuvres  that  the  deception  could  not  be  discovered 
until  it  was  too  late  for  the  discovery  to  have  any  effect  upon 
the  inhabitants.  The  ground  around  Vincennes  was  uneven, 

[39]  Alluding  to  Governor  Hamilton's  reward  for  scalps  and  not  for 
prisoners.  After  Hamilton  had  been  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  Virginia, 
where  he  was  "placed  in  irons  and  detained  long  after  other  prisoners  had 
been  paroled,  the  council  investigated  the  charge  against  him  and 
reported  that  he  had  offered  such  rewards,  and  had  been  guilty  of  great 
cruelty.  See  "Jefferson's  Writings,"  vol.  L,  pp.  226-8.  The  matter  is 
treated  at  length  in  the  "Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  vol.  vi.,  pp. 
681-684. 

[40]    "Major  Bowman's  Journal." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  51 

the  low  hills  running  obliquely  toward  the  town.  The  low 
ground  was  covered  with  water,  but  water  was  no  obstacle  to 
Clark's  men.  Setting  out  just  before  sunset,  he  marched  and 
countermarched  his  army  on  the  lowlands  in  such  a  manner 
that  to  the  crowds  watching  the  approach  there  appeared  to  be 
a  long  and  unbroken  column  advancing.  His  men  had  cap- 
tured some  mounted  hunters,  and  the  officers,  on  the  prisoners' 
horses,  trotted  back  and  forth  as  though  directing  the  move- 
ments of  a  great  body  of  men.  The  colors  of  the  troops  had 
been  fastened  upon  long  poles,  and  they  were  allowed  to  show 
a  long  distance  apart,  over  the  tops  of  the  low  slopes,  to  make 
it  appear  as  though  company  after  company  was  coming  up. 
In  that  manner  they  moved  along  until  it  became  dark;  then, 
suddenly  changing  their  course,  they  approached  the  town, 
over  a  plain  covered  with  water  breast  deep,  at  a  point  where 
they  could  not  have  been  expected.  A  detachment  was  sent  to 
make  a  demonstration  against  the  fort,  while  the  balance  of  the 
army  invested  the  town,  which  surrendered  without  opposition. 
Some  of  the  inhabitants  had  buried  ammunition  to  keep  it  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  British,  and  now  produced  it  with  offers  of 
assistance.  Chief  Tobac  volunteered  to  furnish  a  band  of 
Indians  to  aid  in  the  attack,  but  Clark  declined  his  offer  and 
accepted  only  a  few  volunteers  from  among  the  inhabitants. 
The  friendly  inhabitants  had  conveyed  word  to  the  Americ.m 
prisoners  in  the  fort  that  Clark  was  coming,  but  had  kept  the 
information  from  the  British,  who  did  not  dream  of  an  attack 
until  the  firing  by  Lieutenant  Bay  ley's  detachment  began,  and 
then  it  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  drunken 
Indians.  In  Butler's  "Kentucky"  an  amusing  anecdote  is  told 
about  the  beginning  of  the  attack.  It  was  well  known  that 
Captain  Helm,  who  was  a  prisoner  in  the  fort,  had  a  great 
fondness  for  apple  toddy,  and  it  was  thought  that  he  would 
have  some  brewing  on  his  hearth.  When  the  location  of  his 
quarters  had  been  ascertained,  one  of  Clark's  men  asked  and 


52  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

obtained  permission  to  shoot  at  the  chimney  and  knock  down 
some  mud  and  sticks.  The  toddy  was  on  the  hearth,  and  the 
mud,  falling  into  it,  spoiled  it.  Helm,  as  soon  as  the  firing 
began,  jumped  up  and  exclaimed  that  Clarke's  men  had 

arrived,  and  would  take  the  fort,  but  added  that  the  "d d 

rascals1'  had  no  business  to  spoil  his  toddy.  A  heavy  fire  was 
kept  up  on  both  sides  all  night,  but  not  much  damage  was 
done.  Clark  had  placed  his  men  in  rifle  pits  within  thirty 
yards  of  the  walls,  where  the  cannon  could  not  be  trained  upon 
them,  and,  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  had  thrown  up  an 
earthwork  across  the  road  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  in 
front  of  the  main  gate.  "In  a  few  hours,"  says  Clark,  "I  found 
my  prize  sure.  Certain  of  taking  every  man  that  I  could  have 
wished  for,  being  the  whole  of  those  that  incited  the  Indians  to 
war,  all  my  past  sufferings  vanished;  never  was  a  man  more 
happy."  [41]  Even  Major  Bowman  enjoyed  the  situation  in 
spite  of  his  hunger.  "The  cannon  played  smartly,"  he  says. 
"Not  one  of  our  men  wounded.  Men  in  the  fort  badly 
wounded.  Fine  sport  for  the  sons  of  liberty."  In  the  morn- 
ing the  firing  became  still  hotter,  and  was  kept  up  until  nearly 
9  o'clock.  Clark  had  purposely  allowed  a  scouting  party  to 
get  back  into  the  fort,  in  order  not  to  have  it  out  among  the 
Indians,  and  to  impress  the  British  with  his  confidence;  but 
learning  that  it  had  taken  two  prisoners,  who  were  supposed 
to  have  letters  for  him,  he  decided  to  demand  the  surrender  of 
the  fort  at  once,  to  prevent  the  letters  from  being  destroyed. 
He,  therefore,  sent  a  flag  of  truce  with  the  following  character- 
istic letter:  [42] 

Sir:  In  order  to  save  yourself  from  the  impending  storm 
that  now  threatens  you,  I  order  you  immediately  to  surrender 
yourself,  with  all  your  garrison,  stores,  etc.,  etc.  For  if  1  am 
obliged  to  storm,  you  may  depend  on  such  treatment  as  is  due 
to  a  murderer.  Beware  of  destroying  stores  of  any  kind,  or 

[•11]     "Campaign,"  p.  70. 
[42]    "Memoirs." 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  53 

any  papers  or  letters  that  are  in  your  possession,  or  hurting  one 
house  in  town — for,  by  heavens!  if  you  do,  there  shall  be  no 
mercy  shown  you. 

[Signed]  G.  R.  CLARK. 

Governor  Hamilton  immediately  replied:  "Lieutenant- 
Governor  Hamilton  begs  leave  to  acquaint  Col.  Clark  that  he 
and  his  garrison  are  not  disposed  to  be  awed  into  any  action 
unworthy  of  British  subjects." 

Major  Bowman  takes  time  to  remark  that  while  the  nego- 
tiations were  pending  the  men  were  served  with  a  breakfast, 
"it  being  the  only  meal  of  victuals  since  the  i8th  inst."  After 
that  the  Major  appears  to  have  had  enough  to  eat,  since  he 
makes  no  more  remarks  about  provisions.  Governor  Ham- 
ilton having  refused  to  surrender,  the  firing  was  renewed  with 
increased  vigor,  but  the  Americans  were  at  a  great  advantage. 
Every  one  of  them  was  an  expert  marksman  to  whom  a  man's 
head  was  a  target  too  big  ever  to  be  missed.  Captain  Helm  told 
the  British  soldiers  to  keep  away  from  the  loopholes  or  the 
Virginians  would  shoot  their  eyes  out,  and  they  soon  found 
that  he  spoke  the  truth.  The  Americans,  sheltered  behind 
buildings  and  earthworks,  completely  surrounded  the  fort, 
and  the  instant  a  soldier  ventured  near  a  loop-hole,  a  dozen 
bullets  sped  toward  him  with  deadly  aim.  Several  of  the 
soldiers  fell  with  their  eyes  shot  out,  and  the  garrison  became 
disheartened.  They  wished  to  surrender,  because  they  feared 
that  if  they  were  captured  they  would  be  made  to  suffer  for 
the  Indian  barbarities  brought  down  upon  the  Americans  in 
the  past  by  their  leader.  As  their  spirits  fell,  those  of  the 
besiegers  rose.  They  wanted  to  storm  the  fort,  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  that  they  could  be  restrained  from  exposing 
themselves.  Late  in  the  afternoon  Governor  Hamilton  sent 
a  flag  with  a  proposal  for  a  truce  of  three  days,  and  asked  for 
a  conference  with  Colonel  Clark  at  the  gate  of  the  fort.  Clark 
replied  that  he  could  not  agree  to  any  terms  except  immediate 
surrender  at  discretion,  but  would  confer  with  him  if  he 


54  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

desired  at  the  village  church,  which  stood  about  eighty  yards 
from  the  fort.  Hamilton  met  him  there,  accompanied  by 
Major  Hay,  and  Captain  Helm,  who  was  a  prisoner  at  the 
fort.  Clark  was  accompanied  by  Major  Bowman.  While 
they  were  conferring  a  thing  happened  which  greatly  increased 
the  alarm  of  the  soldiers  at  the  fort.  A  party  of  Indians  who 
had  been  sent  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  for  scalps  was  seen 
returning,  and  a  company  of  Americans,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Williams,  went  out  to  meet  them.  "The  Indians,  mistak- 
ing the  men  for  friends,  came  on  with  demonstrations  that 
denoted  a  successful  raid.  The  Americans  encouraged  them 
until  they  had  them  in  their  power,  then  killed  two  on  the  spot, 
wounded  three  and  took  the  rest  prisoners.  The  captives 
were  ordered  put  to  death.  Two  who  were  found  to  be  white 
men  were  liberated,  but  the  others  were  tomahawked  and 
their  bodies  thrown  into  the  river.  [43]  This  action  threw 
the  soldiers  in  the  fort  into  terror.  The  negotiations  at  the 
church  did  not  progress  very  satisfactorily.  Hamilton  pro- 
posed to  surrender  upon  condition  that  he  and  his  men  be 
allowed  to  go  to  Pensacola  on  parole,  but  as  Clark  wanted  to 
get  the  "Indian  partisans,"  as  he  called  them,  into  his  hands, 
he  declined  to  accept  the  conditions.  A  long  conversation 
ensued  which  showed  that  there  was  distrust  and  hatred  on 
both  sides,  and  negotiations  were  finally  broken  off.  Hamil- 
ton started  to  return  to  the  fort,  but  after  he  had  gone  a  few 
feet  turned,  and  asked  Clark  to  give  him  his  reason  for  refusing 
to  accept  the  conditions  he  had  suggested.  Clark  replied  that  it 
was  because  he  knew  that  the  principal  part  of  the  Indian 
partisans  of  Detroit  were  with  him  in  the  fort,  and  he  wanted 
to  be  at  liberty  to  put  them  to  death  or  treat  them  as  he  saw 
fit.  Major  Hay,  who  had  been  paying  close  attention,  said, 


[43]  Hamilton  in  his  report,  which  has  been  printed  in  the  Canadian 
Archives  and  in  the  Michgan  Pioneer  Collections,  enlarges  upon  the 
barbarity  of  the  act.  Clark  says  he  permitted  it  because  he  wanted  to 
show  the  Indians'  that  the  British  would  not  protect  their  friends,  and  it 
had  the  desired  effect. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  55 

"Pray,  sir,  who  is  it  that  you  call  Indian  partisans?"  "Sir," 
replied  Clark,  "I  take  Major  Hay  to  be  one  of  the  principals." 
"I  never,"  continues  Clark,  "saw  a  man  in  the  moment  of  exe- 
cution so  struck  as  he  appeared  to  be — pale  and  trembling, 
scarcely  able  to  stand.  Hamilton  blushed — and,  I  observed, 
was  much  affected  by  his  behavior.  Major  Bowman's 
countenance  sufficiently  explained  his  disdain  for  the  one  and 
his  sorrow  for  the  other."  Some  moments  elapsed  without  a 
word  being  spoken  on  either  side.  Then  Clark  said  he  would 
reconsider  the  matter,  and  there  should  be  no  hostilities  until 
the  negotiations  were  ended.  Before  sunset  the  following 
terms  of  surrender  had  been  agreed  to :  [44] 

I — Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  engages  to  deliver  up 
to  Colonel  Clark,  Fort  Sackville  [45],  as  it  is  at  present,  with 
all  the  stores,  etc. 

II — The  garrison  are  to  deliver  themselves  as  prisoners  of 
war;  and  march  out  with  their  arms,  accoutrements,  etc. 

Ill — The  garrison  to  be  delivered  up  at  ten  o'clock 
tomorrow. 

IV — Three  days  time  to  be  allowed  the  garrison  to  settle 
up  their  accounts  with  the  inhabitants  and  traders  of  this  place. 
V — The  officers  of  the  garrison  to  be  allowed  their  neces- 
sary baggage,  etc. 

Signed  at  Post  St.  Vincents,  24th  Feb'y,  1779. 

Agreed  for  the   following  reasons:  the   remoteness   from 

succor,  the  state  and  quantity  of  provisions,  etc. ;  unanimity  of 

officers    and    men    in    its    expediency;  the  honorable  terms 

allowed ;  and  lastly,  the  confidence  in  a  generous  enemy.     [46] 

(Signed) 

HENRY  HAMILTON, 
Lieut.-Gov.  and  Superintendent. 

The  next  morning  at  TO  o'clock  the  conditions  of  the  capit- 
ulation were  carried  out.  Clark  had  had  one  man  wounded: 
seven  had  been  wounded  in  the  fort.  Governor  Hamilton 
had  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  Clark  and  his  men.  "I 

[44]    "Major  Bowman's  Journal." 

[45]    The  English  had  renamed  the  fort,  Fort  Sackville. 

[46]  In  his  report  Governor  Hamilton  excuses  himself  for  paying  Clark 
that  compliment  on  the  ground  that  he  desired  to  flatter  him  in  order  to 
secure  kind  treatment  for  the  wounded. 


56  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

was  happy,"  says  Clark,  "to  find  that  he  never  deviated,  while 
he  stayed  with  us,  from  that  dignity  of  conduct  which  became 
an  officer  in  his  position."  Two  days  after  the  surrender,  The 
Willing  arrived,  its  men  greatly  chagrined  that  the  capture 
should  have  been  made  without  their  assistance.  They 
brought  with  them  a  government  express  with  dispatches  con- 
taining the  welcome  news  that  the  battalion  was  to  be  com- 
pleted, and  supplemented  by  an  additional  one  in  the  spring. 
On  the  day  after  the  surrender  a  detachment  of  sixty  men, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Helm,  was  sent  up  the  river 
in  three  boats  to  intercept  some  boats  coming  with  goods  and 
provisions  from  Detroit.  They  traveled  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles,  surprised  the  boats  and  captured  them  with- 
out firing  a  shot.  Seven  boats,  loaded  with  goods  worth 
£10,000,  were  secured,  and  Philip  Dejean,  grand  judge  of 
Detroit,  was  taken  prisoner,  with  M.  Adimar,  the  commissary, 
and  thirty-eight  others.  Clark,  who  regarded  Vincennes  only  as 
a  stepping  stone  toward  Detroit,  put  £800  worth  of  the  goods 
aside  for  the  use  of  the  soldiers  he  proposed  to  take  with  him 
on  the  expedition,  and  divided  the  rest  among  the  people.  On 
March  7th,  Captain  Rogers  and  Captain  Williams  set  out  from 
Vincennes  with  Governor  Hamilton,  Major  Hay,  Captain 
Lamoth,  Judge  Dejean  and  twenty-two  subordinate  officers 
and  privates  to  conduct  them  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  and 
thence  to  Williamsburg.  There  the  subordinates  were  soon 
released,  but  Hamilton  and  his  principal  associates  were 
imprisoned  in  irons  for  some  months,  occasioning  no  end  of 
diplomatic  correspondence,  until  they  were  finally  released  on 
the  recommendation  of  General  Washington,  who  considered 
their  imprisonment  a  violation  of  the  conditions  of  the  terms 
of  the  surrender.  [47]  Thus  ended  this  most  remarkable 
campaign  which  was  fraught  with  so  much  importance  to  the 


[47]  "Diplomatic  Correspondence,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  333.  "Washington's 
Writings,"  vol.  vii.,  pp.  240,  291,  317,  407.  "Jefferson's  Works,"  vol.  i., 
pp.  226-237,  258,  267. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  57 

future  of  the  young  Republic.  It  not  only  added  the  force  of 
conquest  to  the  colonies'  charter  claims  to  the  vast  territory, 
but  immediately  put  an  end  to  the  Indian  hostilities  and  by 
exalting  Clark  in  the  opinion  of  the  savages,  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  make  treaties  with  them  that  were  of  the  greatest 
benefit  in  the  development  of  the  conquered  country. 

CLARK'S  SUBSEQUENT  CAREER. 

It  would  not  be  possible  in  this  brief  paper  to  follow  in 
detail  the  subsequent  career  of  this  extraordinary  man,  nor 
would  it  be  a  pleasing  task  if  it  were  possible.  From  this 
crowning  point  he  would  have  to  be  followed  step  by  step  in 
a  downward  career  until  he  sank  at  last  in  poverty  and  distress 
into  the  grave,  unrewarded,  and,  comparatively  speaking, 
unknown  among  the  great  benefactors  of  his  country.  A 
hasty  survey  will  suffice.  His  cherished  project  of  taking 
Detroit  was  destined  never  to  be  accomplished,  but  he  set 
about  preparing  for  the  expedition  with  his  usual  energy.  As 
soon  as  his  business  at  Vincennes  had  been  arranged  he  went 
to  Kaskaskia,  and  there  occupied  himself  settling  the  affairs  of 
the  Illinois  country.  While  he  was  there  the  Indians  pre- 
sented him  with  a  tract  of  land,  two  and  one-half  leagues 
square,  on  the  west  side  of  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  the  site  of 
Virginia's  subsequent  grant  to  Clark  and  his  officers.  In 
October,  1778,  Virginia  had  established  the  County  of  Illinois 
and  in  December  had  appointed  Colonel  John  Todd  as  county 
lieutenant,  but  until  his  arrival  some  months  later,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  same  rested  in  Clark's  hands.  When  Todd 
arrived  in  the  following  May  and  a  system  of  government  was 
established,  which  had  an  important  bearing  on  the  subsequent 
boundary  question,  Clark  turned  with  joy  to  his  plans  for  the 
conquest  of  Detroit,  only  to  be  bitterly  disappointed  by  the 
failure  of  Virginia  to  furnish  him  the  men  he  needed.  He 
had  assurances  of  a  large  number  of  troops  which  he  was  to 


58  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

meet  at  Vincennes,  but  when  he  arrived  there  in  July  he  found 
only  thirty,  instead  of  three  hundred  men,  from  Kentucky, 
and  no  tidings  of  the  men  expected  from  Virginia.  He  sent 
out  officers  to  get  recruits  and  went  himself  for  the  same  pur- 
pose to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  Louisville  had  been  estab- 
lished. There  he  received  a  letter  from  Jefferson,  then  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  stating  that  troops  would  be  sent  to  him, 
and  suggesting  the  building  of  a  fort  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio  River  in  order  to  strengthen  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  to  the  country,  out  of  which  suggestion  grew  the  build- 
ing of  Fort  Jefferson,  by  Clark,  in  the  following  year.  About 
the  time  of  the  completion  of  Fort  Jefferson,  Colonel  Byrd 
made  his  famous  raid  into  Kentucky  with  a  force  of  Indians  and 
Canadians,  retreating  as  quickly  as  he  had  come,  because,  it 
has  been  said,  he  was  shocked  at  the  barbarity  of  the  Indians, 
but  more  likely  because  he  feared  that  things  would  be  made 
unpleasant  for  him  if  he  happened  to  meet  Colonel  Clark  and 
his  warriors.  Colonel  Clark  went  to  Harrodsburg,  enlisted 
a  thousand  men,  and  retaliated  by  destroying  the  Indian  towns 
on  the  Big  and  Little  Miami,  conducting  his  campaign  with  the 
same  secrecy  and  dispatch  that  he  had  shown  in  the  Vincennes 
campaign.  Clark  returned  to  the  Ohio  and  spent  his  time 
revolving  the  project  of  reducing  Detroit,  which  he  could  not 
put  into  execution  because  he  had  no  men.  Jefferson,  who 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  matter,  urged  Washington  to 
furnish  the  necessary  troops,  and,  in  the  latter  part  of  Decem- 
ber, Colonel  Brodhead,  in  command  of  Fort  Pitt,  was  ordered 
to  furnish  Clark  with  the  men  and  supplies  that  he  needed, 
Washington  taking  the  precaution  to  instruct  Colonel  Brod- 
head to  see  that  no  Continental  officer  outranked  Clark,  in 
whom  he  had  the  greatest  confidence,  though  he  had  never 
seen  him.  [48]  Brodhead's  instructions  did  not  reach  him 
until  late  in  February.  Meanwhile  Benedict  Arnold  had 


[48]    "Washington's  Writings,"  vol.  vii.,  pp.  343-345. 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  59 

begun  his  invasion  of  Virginia,  which  was  practically  defense- 
less, and  Clarke  tendered  his  services  to  Baron  Steuben.  With 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  he  lay  in  ambush  for  the  enemy 
and  treated  him  to  a  taste  of  Western  fighting  that  was  not  at 
all  to  his  liking.  He  then  returned  to  Fort  Pitt  and  spent 
several  months  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  get  troops,  Colonel  Brod- 
head  being  unable  to  spare  the  men  promised  him.  He  had 
been  made  a  brigadier-general,  and  at  one  time  had  hope  of 
getting  enough  men  to  start  upon  the  expedition,  but  a-  por- 
tion of  his  expected  troops,  under  Colonel  Lochry,  were 
defeated  by  a  party  of  Indians  under  the  leadership  of  Joseph 
Brant.  The  end  of  the  year  found  him  at  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  bitterly  lamenting  the  opportunity  that  was  gone. 
"Detroit  lost  for  a  few  hundred  men,"  he  said  in  his  disap- 
pointment, and  from  the  moment  that  the  enterprise  was 
abandoned  his  star  declined.  At  this  point,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-nine,  he  ceased  to  be  an  important  factor  in  Western 
affairs.  The  following  summer  he  led  a  successful  but  not 
very  brilliant  expedition  against  the  Indians  on  the  Miami. 
On  July  2,  1783,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  service  of  the  State 
of  Virginia  with  a  letter  of  thanks  from  the  governor.  The 
financial  distress  of  the 'state  was  given  ^s  the  reason  for  his 
discharge,  but  chafing  under  the  disappointments  he  had  met, 
and  the  wrongs  he  had  suffered,  he  had  taken  to  drink  and 
was  fast  becoming  a  wreck.  Three  years  later  he  undertook 
to  lead  an  army  of  one  thousand  Kentucky  volunteers  against 
the  Indians,  but  he  was  a  changed  man  and  the  expedition 
failed.  When  the  news  of  the  failure  reached  Louisville,  a 
political  enemy  exclaimed,  "The  sun  of  General  Clark's 
military  glory  has  set  forever!"  and  the  prediction  was  only 
too  true.  In  the  thirty-two  years  of  his  subsequent  life  he 
appeared  in  Western  affairs  only  once,  and  that  in  an  unfortun- 
ate light.  It  was  at  the  time  of  Genet's  proposed  expedition 
against  the  Spanish  possessions  on  the  Mississippi.  Clark 


60  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

accepted  a  commission  from  the  French  minister,  and  under- 
took to  raise  a  force  of  Kentucky  volunteers.  Before  the 
project  could  be  carried  out,  Genet  was  recalled  and  Clark's 
commission  was  annulled.  He  never  appeared  in  public  life 
again.  He  never  married.  In  his  declining  years  he  suf- 
fered from  ill  health.  Rheumatic  troubles,  brought  on  no 
doubt  by  the  exposure  he  endured  in  his  younger  years,  term- 
inated in  paralysis  and  caused  him  the  loss  of  one  limb.  Poor 
and  neglected,  he  lived  in  the  little  home  near  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio,  which  was  all  that  he  ever  received  from  this  great  gov- 
ernment in  return  for  his  services,  until  the  year  1814.  Then 
he  removed  to  the  home  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  William  Croghan, 
at  Locust  Grove,  where  he  died  in  February,  1818. 

Clark  had  all  the  qualifications  of  a  great  leader.  In 
appearance  he  was  tall  and  commanding,  and  in  his  demeanor 
there  was  a  dignity  that  compelled  respect.  There  was  no 
danger  that  he  feared  to  face,  no  hardship  that  he  could  not 
endure.  He  was  quick  to  act  and  as  crafty  as  an  Indian  in 
action.  With  the  eye  of  a  military  genius,  he  saw  where  and 
how  he  could  get  the  enemy  at  a  disadvantage,  and  he  struck 
his  blows  with  a  force  and  suddenness  that  were  paralyzing. 
He  commanded  not  only  the  respect,  but  the  love,  of  his  men, 
from  whom  he  always  received  a  willing  obedience.  Had  he 
been  supported  by  the  state,  there  is  not  much  doubt  that  he 
would  have  taken  Detroit,  gone  from  Detroit  to  Niagara,  from 
Niagara  to  Montreal,  from  Montreal  to  Quebec,  and  changed 
the  map  of  North  America.  "He  was  a  great  man,"  says 
Dunn  in  his  "History  of  Indiana."  "Of  all  those  who  pre- 
ceded or  followed  him,  La  Salle  is  the  only  one  who  can  be 
compared  to  him  in  the  wonderful  combination  of  genius, 
activity  and  courage  that  lifted  him  above  his  fellows."  Neglect 
and  disappointment  were  the  'direct  cause  of  his  downfall. 
Chafing  under  bitter  chagrin  at  the  failure  of  his  cherished 
Detroit  expedition,  worried  by  lawsuits  over  goods  taken  in 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK.  61 

the  Vincennes  campaign,  for  which  the  government  refused  to 
pay,  mortified  because  his  great  ability  was  not  recognized 
by  a  commission  in  the  Continental  army,  oppressed  by  pov- 
erty and  harassed,  by  political  enemies,  he  sought  relief  in 
drink  and  destroyed  himself.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  felt 
the  neglect  of  his  country  keenly.  It  is  related  of  him  that 
when  late  in  life  Virginia  presented  him  with  a  sword,  he 
exclaimed:  "When  Virginia  needed  a  sword,  I  gave  her  one. 
She  sends  me  now  a  toy.  I  want  bread!" — thrust  the  sword 
into  the  ground  and  broke  it  with  his  crutch,  though  his  latest 
biographer  discredits  the  story.  [49]  In  1799  Judge  Burnet, 
induced  by  the  veneration  he  felt  for  his  military  talents  and 
services,  made  a  journey  of  some  miles  to  visit  Clark.  "His 
health,"  he  says,  "was  much  impaired,  but  his  majestic  person, 
strong  features,  and  dignified  deportment,  gave  evidence  of 
an  intelligent,  resolute  mind.  He  had  the  appearance  of  a 
man  born  to  command,  and  fitted  by  nature  for  his  destiny. 
There  was  a  gravity  and  solemnity  in  his  demeanor,  resembling 
that  which  so  eminently  distinguished  'the  venerated  Father 
of  his  Country.'  A  person  familiar  with  the  lives  and  char- 
acter of  the  military  veterans  of  Rome,  in  the  days  of  her 
greatest  power,  might  readily  have  selected  this  remarkable 
man  as  a  specimen  of  the  model  he  had  formed  of  them  in  his 
own  mind;  but  he  was  rapidly  falling  a  victim  to  his  extreme 
sensibility,  and  to  the  ingratitude  of  his  native  state,  under 
whose  banner  he  had  fought  bravely  and  with  great  success. 
The  time  will  certainly  come  when  the  enlightened  and  mag- 
nanimous citizens  of  Louisville  will  remember  the  debt  of 
gratitude  they  owe  the  memory  of  that  distinguished  man. 
He  was  the  leader  of  the  pioneers  who  made  the  first  lodgment 
on  the  site  now  covered  by  their  rich  and  splendid  city.  He 
was  its  protector  during  the  years  of  its  infancy,  and  in  the 
period  of  its  greatest  danger.  Yet  the  traveler  who  has  read 


[49]    English's  "Conquest  of  the  Northwest,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  88-93. 


62  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 

of  his  achievements — admired  his  character — and  visited  the 
theater  of  his  brilliant  deeds,  discovers  nothing  indicating  the 
place  where  his  remains  are  deposited,  and  where  he  can  go 
and  pay  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  departed  and 
gallant  hero."  The  prediction  remains  unfulfilled.  Indian- 
apolis has  erected  a  statue  in  his  honor,  but  Louisville  has  not 
followed  her  example.  For  half  a  century  his  remains  lay  in 
the  grave  at  Locust  Grove  and  then  were  removed  to  Cave 
Hill  cemetery  in  the  suburb  of  Louisville,  where  they  lie  with 
nothing  more  than  a  simple  headstone  to  mark  their  resting 

place. 

DAN  B.  STARKEY. 

Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  January   I2th,   1897. 


PARKMAN  CLUB  PUBLICATIONS. 


No.  1.  Nicholas  Perrot;  a  Study  in  Wisconsin  History.  By  Gard- 
ner P.  Stickney,  Milwaukee,  1895.  16  pp.  paper;  8vo. 

No.  2.  Exploration  of  Lake  Superior;  the  Voyages  of  Radisson  and 
Groseilliers.  By  Henry  Colin  Campbell,  Milwaukee, 
1896.  22  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  3.  Chevalier  Henry  de  Tonty;  His  Exploits  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Mississippi.  By  Henry  E.  Legler,  Milwaukee,  1896. 
22  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  4.  The  Aborigines  of  the  Northwest;  a  Glance  into  the  Remote 
Past.  By  Prank  T.  Terry,  Milwaukee,  1896.  14  pp., 
paper;  8vo. 

No.  5.  Jonathan  Carver;  His  Travels  in  the  Northwest  in  1766-8. 
By  John  G.  Gregory,  Milwaukee,  1896.  28  pp.,  1  plate, 
1  map,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  6.  Negro  Slavery  in  Wisconsin.  By  John  N.  Davidson,  Mil- 
waukee, 1896.  28  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  7.  Eleazer  Williams;  His  Forerunners,  Himself.  By  William 
Ward  Wight,  Milwaukee,  1896.  72  pp.,  portrait,  and  four 
appendices,  pap.er;  8vo. 

No.  8.  Charles  Langlade,  First  Settler  of  Wisconsin.  By  Mont- 
gomery E.  Mclntosh,  Milwaukee,  1896.  20  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  9.  The  German  Voter  in  Wisconsin  Politics  Before  the  Civil 
War.  By  Ernest  Bruncken,  Milwaukee,  1896.  14  pp., 
paper;  8vo. 

No.  10.  The  Polanders  in  Wisconsin.  By  Frank  H.  Miller,  Milwau- 
kee, 1896.  8  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  11.  P6re  Ren6  M6nard,  the  Predecessor  of  Allouez  and  Mar- 
quette  in  the  Lake  Superior  Region.  By  Henry  Colin 
Campbell.  Milwaukee,  1897.  24  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  12.  George  Rogers  Clark  and  His  Illinois  Campaign.  By  Dan 
B.  Starkey. 

IN  PRESS. 

Stickney,  Gardner  P.— The  Use  of  Maize  by  Wisconsin  Indians. 
Gregory,  John  G.— The  Land  Limitation  Movement  of  1848-51. 

IN    PREPARATION. 

Bruncken,  Ernest— The  German  Voter  in  Wisconsin  Politics. 
This  paper  will  include  the  period  of  the  Civil  War. 

Campbell,  Henry  Colin— Du  Luth,  the  Explorer. 

Davidson,  Rev.  John  Nelson— Underground  Railway  Stations  in 
Wisconsin. 

Kelly,  Frederick  W.— Local  Government  in  Wisconsin. 

La  Boule,  Rev.  Joseph  S.— Allouez,  the  Father  of  Wisconsin 
Missions. 

Legler,  Henry  E. — Mormons  in  Wisconsin. 

Mclntosh,  Montgomery  E. — Cooperative  Communities  in 
Wisconsin. 

Miller,  Frank  H.— The  Buffalo  in  Wisconsin. 

Starkey,  Dan  B.— The  Fox- Wisconsin  Waterway. 

Stickney,  Gardner  P.— Bibliography  of  Wisconsin  History. 

Wight,  William  Ward— Joshua  Glover,  the  Fugitive  Slave. 


An  index  to  the  Club's  publications  during  1896  will  soon  be 
issued.  

PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE— Henry  Colin  Campbell,  Henry  E.  Leg- 
ler and  John  G.  Gregory.  

The  Parkman  Club  was  organized  December  10th,  1895,  for  study 
of  the  history  of  the  Northwest.  A  limited  number  of  copies  of  each 
publication  are  set  aside  for  sale  and  exchange.  Single  copies  are 
sold  at  the  uniform  price  of  25  cents,  and  the  annual  subscription 
(ten  numbers)  is  placed  at  $2.00. 

Correspondence  may  be  addressed, 

GARDNER  P.  STICKNEY,  Secretary, 

427  Bradford  Street,  MILWAUKEE,  Wis. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK  AND  HIS  ILLINOIS  CAM 


